BRAHMS Sonata E minor op 38 (1st & 2nd mov.) - Božo Paradžik (double bass) & Maria Sofianska (piano)

The two movements composed 1862, originally first and third movement (Brahms destroyed Adagio, which was originally the second movement):

0:02 1. Allegro non troppo
15:12 2. Allegretto quasi Minuetto

Pianist Maria Sofianska and myself have recorded this video on May 31, 2021 when just a few more sequences for the documentary "Double Bass Goes Brahms" were needed (one can watch whole the one-hour-documentary here on YouTube:    • DOUBLE BASS GOES BRAHMS making of the...  ). We actually didn't actually even think of producing a "real" full video recording of this sonata that day, as the concert hall was hired just for short time and there was plenty of other pieces to be recorded during the two days. We played this sonata just twice through, but the result was better than expected and now we have this video. What we now hear makes us joy and we gladly share the recording here. Third movement sounds also promissing, maybe it will also be uploaded by the time.

Super Audio CD "Double Bass Goes Brahms" with three sonatas by Brahms performed with double bass and piano was the first big goal of my big Brahms-project. I was working on it actively for longer than 15 years. I've decided not to record any of sonatas by Brahms before I feel to have reached a full maturity as a musician. After my first two CD releases (published 2000 by EMI/Virgin Classics and 2011 by Solo Musica GmbH) I wanted to produce my recordings as an independent artist, in my own production. Therefore the CD can be ordered only from the online shop of my website. Please visit my website, one can listen there many more excerpts from the album. I also attend to upload on YouTube full videos with all Brahms sonatas I have played so far... and it is five of seven in total (from the two I will not perform as a whole piece I will upload one of the movements of the each sonata, though).

Brahms was one of the all-times-greatest giants of music. His sonatas are technically and musically a hard task to play and performing them well will challenge (not only) the bassists to face utterly limits. Therefore my project of bringing Brahms's music closer to double bassists is being now continued with a row of the new adaptations and arrangements that will be published soon. Some are already on YouTube (Rhapsody in G minor op.79 No.2 and Romance op.118 No.5). Next releases of PDF music and productions for YouTube videos are scheduled late in 2022. In terms of technical difficulties the next series of Brahms pieces will enable easier access to his music for the double bassists, the pieces are somewhat less difficult to play than the sonatas, yet still the pieces were composed by Brahms in their full musical grandiosity. I hope it will be an enrichment in the literature for double bass, which badly needs more high quality compositions. Education of a finest musician simply must include row of pieces composed by the greatest composers in the repertory. It is impossible to become a great musician by playing and studying only average compositions.

Jakob Brahms, father of Johannes the composer, was also a musician. He played horn and double bass. Unfortunatelly, his skills in playing double bass probably weren't impressive. It has been documented how he described double bass as "an instrument so dificult to control that performing more than two consecutive tones absolutely in tune can be only a coincidence". It is very regrettable, because Johannes Brahms, who knew this instrument so well never dared to compose any piece with exposed double bass part, not even one single chamber music piece with double bass left behind this great composer. He knew how to write for double bass in his symphonic works. Any professional orchestral bassist will confirm you how great this instrument sounds in all big orchestral works by Brahms.

This composer means a world to me and I am happy to upload much more of my "Double Bass Goes Brahms" project here. I think it would make Johannes Brahms happy if he could watch this. And I am sure Jakob Brahms would also enjoy a lot to listen at 73 minutes of this great music consecutively performed well in tune.

More Brahms will follow soon on my channel. Thank you for your attention and for your time.

Božo Paradžik

P. S. special thanks to our page turner, it is a greatly talented young double bassist Filipe Dandalo Modafferi, one might soon hear more of him.